By Yasmine Salameh ---

The Red Cross, a world renowned humanitarian organization, has among its many branches an established base in Lebanon, the Lebanese Red Cross. The LRC is divided into different divisions. The Youth Division voluntarily serves and aids those in need or in pain, a service of a vital nature especially in Lebanon and the Middle East where communities face volatile political and economic conditions. By providing medical and healthcare to people whose homes and towns have been destroyed, or by simply boosting the morale of orphaned children and keeping elderly folk company, the LRC accomplishes a few of its aims in easing the suffering and pain in this part of the world. The LRC Club started at AUB in 1980, when students working at the main LRC headquarters decided to establish a student branch at AUB. Today the LRC at AUB is a club open to all students of the University. Hiba El-Jazzar, who has been president of the club for about two years, appreciates the values the club stands for. "It is the only club where religion and politics have no place. That is honestly the truth; it's not like any other club. We help everybody [regardless of their beliefs and ethnic background]." The Red Cross upholds seven principles and adheres to them strictly. Humanity, impartiality, and neutrality are the first three principles. The LRC members cannot let their personal views and beliefs about religion or politics stop them from helping people. The fourth and fifth principles are independence and voluntary service. The LRC is an independent organization and the people they help do not pay them for their services. "As Red Cross people we cannot wear our uniforms and get paid to wear them." The sixth and seventh principles are unity and universality. The principle of unity was established to avoid the confusion revolving around the two symbols, the cross and the crescent, which the Red Cross uses. Contrary to popular belief, these two symbols have no religious connotations at all. The red cross symbol, a red cross with a white background, is taken from the Swiss flag, whose colors are the opposite, a white cross on a red background. During the crusades, Christian warriors fighting the Ottoman Turks wore white vests and red crosses, the exact same symbol of the Red Cross. The Turks, thinking they were the enemy, accidentally killed the Red Cross volunteers, who also wore that attire. The Turks therefore changed the symbol of their Red Cross volunteers to a red crescent to be able to differentiate between the volunteers and the Christians. Indonesia, for example, is the largest Muslim country in the world, yet they use the symbol of the Red Cross. "The goals of the club are to stick to the seven principles while helping other people," stated El-Jazzar. These goals, however, differ from president to president depending on the president's plan and view. "I concentrated a lot on the social life of the members, and how they could . . . fit into the group." This, El-Jazzar believes, is the reason behind the success of club. "Whenever I needed volunteers on short notice, I could ask them on an informal basis. I would just call up some of the members; it was like calling a friend and asking for help." When the LRC Club at AUB has more work than it can handle it meets with other clubs in other universities, many of whose members the AUB group now know on a personal basis. The club works in coordination with the main LRC headquarters when it comes to projects or missions involving the South, orphanages, or any long-term projects. "The youth clubs have started a major project involving a delinquent rehab center." People of all ages who have committed crimes are given the necessary counseling as supplements to their jail or probation time. The magnitude of this project does not allow the AUB club to work on its own; therefore, it relies greatly on the main headquarters. The LRC Club has also organized educational three- to five-day camps for orphaned children, visited orphan centers and homes for the elderly, and once a year it invites diabetic and thalassemic children to AUB.